Horses Collars, starring the Three Stooges

Moe, Larry, the cheese! In this Three Stooges short film, Curly goes wild whenever he sees a mouse, and the only thing that calms him down is Moe or Larry feeding him cheese. Set in the American Old West,the Three Stooges are inept detectives, hired by a young lady to retrieve an IOU from the movie’s villain, Double Deal Decker (do you get the idea that he cheats at cards)?

When the Three Stooges try to steal Decker’s wallet (where they think the IOU is hidden), they are soon caught, and are being hung for their crime, where Curly sees a mouse, leading to a scene where Curly is wildly attacking everyone in sight, crying out “Moe! Larry! the cheese!“ while Moe and Larry are dangling from their nooses — thankfully, they get down in time to prevent being hung, and even feed Curly his cheese.

Later on, the Three Stooges try to break into Decker’s safe, again leading to a very funny fight scene with Decker and Curly sharing a coat while Curly beats up all of Decker’s men, Decker, and Moe and Larry as well! All ends well, as Moe and Larry feed Curly some Limburger cheese – and Curly’s foul breath knocks them all out.

Highlights of the film include the ‘tin roof’ joke when the Three Stooges order a drink at Decker’s bar, shooting a coin in the air and receiving change, and the ‘accordion’ music playing when they’re caught with Decker’s wallet. A very funny western Three Stooges short film, which I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

Curly has a violent reaction to the sight of a mouse. The only cure is for someone to feed him cheese (leading to the now-famous catchphrase, “Moe! Larry! The Cheese!”). This is similar to the device used in Punch Drunks, Grips, Grunts and Groans and Tassels in the Air.

The Stooges work for Hyden Zeke (i.e. Hide and Seek) Detective Agency.

Double Deal’s Five D Delight is a saloon that boasts Dice, Dames, Dancing, Drinking, and Dunking.

Moe stops Curly and a woman as they are dancing and asks the woman if he may cut in. Moe then dances off with Curly, leaving their two dancing partners confused. This would be a recurring joke in later shorts.

This is the first short where the Stooges sing barbershop music style: “You’ll Never Know What Tears Are.”

Curly is confronted by Decker and his hired gun. Decker is taking off his coat as Curly charges him, and Curly becomes tangled in his coat. Curly punches Decker’s hired gun, who swings back, missing Curly and punching Decker. This is repeated until both Decker and his hired gun have knocked each other out. This would be a recurring joke in later shorts when one of the Stooges is confronted by two attackers.